Best of 2009

Once again, thanks to all of you for making Civil War Memory part of your daily Online travels. There were plenty of good books published in the field of Civil War history in 2009 and 2010 looks to be just as good. Listed below are a few of my favorite titles from the past year. I hope all of you are enjoying the Holiday Season.

Best History Blog: American History Now This was the easiest pick of the year. Those of you well versed in the historiography of Civil War memory studies may be familiar with Jim Cullen’s book, The Civil War in Popular Culture: A Reusable Past. Somehow between his many publications and teaching, Jim has managed to maintain what is in my mind one of the best history/teaching blogs. He blogs about all things American history and culture and his ongoing series about a fictional history teacher is a must read. This is intelligent and creative blogging at its best.

Best Civil War Blog: Gettysburg Daily Can’t get to Gettysburg? The next best thing is a regularly updated blog that is packed with beautiful photographs, panoramas, and tours with Gettysburg Licensed Battlefield Guides. A great deal of work goes into each post, which leaves one wondering how they are able to maintain the site on a regular basis. Well, however they do it, I just want to say that it is appreciated by this Civil War enthusiast.

Thanks for the best of list. It made it very easy to immediately use up the two Barnes & Noble gift certificates I received from my sisters for Christmas. I was fortunate enough to tour Prairie Grove and Pea Ridge with Bill Shea and Wilson's Creek with Bill Piston on one of the CompuServe CW Forum's annual gettogethers.